Unit 4: Gender Roles
Lesson 1: Gender and Culture
About this Lesson
In this lesson, students consider how gender expectations are
constructed and construed in their community and in the Arab
world. This foundational analysis prepares students to investigate
gender roles and expectations through the rest of the unit. In
this lesson, students use the iceberg model (see Unit 1, Lesson 3
for more information) to separate their observations from their
interpretations and explore how gender roles are developed,
negotiated and varied within a culture and between culture to
culture.
Time
50 minutes
(1 class)
Students will read the article “Is Pink ‘Pink’ in Saudi Arabia,” by
Lisa Wade, which serves as a reminder that the cues that
indicate gender identity themselves can vary greatly between
cultures. In other words, what one culture interprets as
belonging in a “female domain” in one community may seem
neutral or even masculine in another context. This lesson also
utilizes a collection of photos of males and females in the Arab
world as a way for students to observe various expressions of
gender. Students are asked to record their observations and then
interpret the photos. When looking at these photos, students are
asked to consider their own cultural interpretations as well as
how they could be interpreter within Arab culture.
In this lesson, students will:
 read Is Pink “Pink” in Saudi Arabia, by Lisa Wade.
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use the iceberg model to understand gender roles and assumptions in
their culture and in the Arab world.
look at photographs of Arab men, women, and children.
Enduring Understandings

Gender roles are built,
defined, and fulfilled by social
and cultural norms and can
vary from culture to culture.
Curriculum Framing Questions

How does culture impact the
parameters of assigned gender
roles?
Arab Culture through Literature and Film
Unit 4, Lesson 1: Gender and Culture
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By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:


reflect upon their expectations of gender roles and how gender roles
are established differently in the Arab world.
compare gender roles between their own cultures and Arab cultures.
Assessment & Evaluation of Student Learning


Create two iceberg diagrams illustrating gender roles in the student’s
community and in the Arab world.
Engage in active discussion about gender roles in America and the
Arab world.
Materials Needed in Class


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Gender in My Community Homework Assignment
Icebergs: In My Community and In the Arab World
“Is Pink ‘Pink’ in Saudi Arabia?” by Lisa Wade
Photographs from the Arab World
Implementation
Before Class
1. Before implementing the lesson, assign students to reflect on gender
and gender roles in their community by completing the Gender in My
Community Homework Assignment. They will need the In My
Community Iceberg.
In Class
2. Ask students to share their observations from last night’s homework.
Based on students’ discussion of gender dynamics, ask them to create
a class definition of gender.
The definition used in this curriculum is: Gender roles are the culturally
established set of behaviors and expressions that are socially
acceptable for a specific sex. You may share this with them.
3. Ask students what they know about gender roles in the Arab world.
Use the following questions to guide the discussion:

Are there particular expectations for males or females in the
Arab world? What are they? How did you acquire this
knowledge?
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Unit 4, Lesson 1: Gender and Culture
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
What do you expect from a unit about gender roles in the Arab
world? What has shaped those expectations?
If it didn’t come out in the opening conversation, remind students that,
like in America, there are traditional expressions of gender identity for
males and females in the Arab world. There are also diverse ways that
individuals negotiate and contest their gender roles. One’s
identification as either male or female informs social cues and
interactions, and how they are interpreted. It is important to
remember that the cues themselves can be quite different than those
established in other cultures.
4. Distribute the article “Is Pink “Pink” in Saudi Arabia” and the iceberg
worksheet labeled “In the Arab World.” Instruct students to read the
article and record any relevant information in the visible section of
their iceberg.
5. Debrief with students about the article. What does the author say
about pink in Saudi Arabia? What values or associations are attached
to pink in western culture?
6. Introduce the Photographs from the Arab World. Explain that students
will make observations and interpretations of gender in the Arab world
based on a set a photographs from the region. Project the photos
provided for the whole class to see and as you look each photo, ask
students to:
 Observe: What do you see in the photo? Describe it. (Students
may skip to interpreting or evaluating the photo, but try to get
them to first just observe)
 Interpret: What do the actions and interactions in the
photograph mean? Does it mean something different in the Arab
world than in your community?
 Evaluate: What do you think of the images? What might
someone in the Arab world think of them?
As students look at the photos, they should continue writing notes on
the visible side of their Arab world iceberg.
Note for teachers: Encourage students to think about the following:
physical contact between individuals in the photos, location of the
photos (public or private space), clothing people are wearing, and
similarities & differences between single and mixed gender groups.
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Unit 4, Lesson 1: Gender and Culture
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7. End the lesson with a concluding discussion of gender. You may use
the following questions to guide your discussion:
 Do you notice any patterns that relate to gender in these
images? What are they? Are there exceptions to the patterns?
 Can you draw any conclusions about what lies below the
waterline in your Arab world iceberg i.e. what these photos
mean within the context of Arab culture?
 In this lesson, we discussed the idea of gender as a construct of
society. What do you think of that concept? Does it change how
you understand gender in the Arab world? in your community?
Common Core State Standards 9-10
Reading: Informational Texts

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.2 Determine a central idea of a text and
analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it
emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an
objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.7 Analyze various accounts of a subject
told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and
multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each
account.
Speaking and Listening


CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a
range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and
teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and
issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and
persuasively.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.2 Integrate multiple sources of information
presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively,
orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.
Language

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions
of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
History/Social Studies
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Unit 4, Lesson 1: Gender and Culture
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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2 Determine the central ideas or
information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate
summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the
text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.9 Compare and contrast treatments of the
same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
Common Core State Standards 11-12
Reading: Informational Text


CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.2 Determine two or more central ideas of
a text and analyze their development over the course of the text,
including how they interact and build on one another to provide a
complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources
of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually,
quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or
solve a problem.
Speaking and Listening


CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a
range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and
teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11–12 topics, texts, and
issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and
persuasively.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.2 Integrate multiple sources of
information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually,
quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve
problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and
noting any discrepancies among the data.
Language

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.1 Demonstrate command of the
conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or
speaking.
History/Social Studies

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2 Determine the central ideas or
information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate
summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and
ideas.
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Unit 4, Lesson 1: Gender and Culture
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
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple
sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g.,
visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a
question or solve a problem.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.9 Integrate information from diverse
sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of
an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.
National Standards for Foreign Language Education
Standard 2.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship
between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied
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Unit 4, Lesson 1: Gender and Culture
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